PITTSBURGH – Leading by two points entering the fourth quarter, the Duquesne women's basketball was outscored 25-16 in the fourth quarter, falling to George Washington, 72-65, on Saturday night at La Roche University's Kerr Fitness Center.

The Dukes fall to 17-10 and 7-7 in conference play while the Colonials improve to 12-15 and 6-8 in the Atlantic 10.

Laia Solé led three double-figure scorers with 15 points (6-9 FG , 3-4 FT), while Nina Aho poured in 14 points (5-7 FG, 2-3 3PT, 2-2 FT) and Libby Bazelak posted 10. Amanda Kalin and Amaya Hamilton each recorded eight points on the night.

Paige Cannon led the way off the glass with a game-high eight rebounds. Aho dished four assists in the effort.  

FIRST QUARTER

• GW built an early six-point lead at 14-8, before the Dukes finished the opening quarter on a 12-3 surge, taking a 20-17 advantage into the second quarter.
• Aho connected on all three of her shots from the field and both free throws in the first quarter, scoring nine of her 14 points in just 6:19 of action.
• GW shot 70 percent (7-10), but turned the ball over seven times. The Dukes countered with a 53.8 percent shooting clip (7-13), but gave the ball away just twice.

SECOND QUARTER

• After the Colonials trimmed the deficit to one, the Dukes embarked on an 11-4 sprint to take a 31-23 advantage with 3:09 to left in the half.
• GW sliced the deficit to five at 33-28, but Solé sank a jumper in the paint, as the Dukes held a 35-28 lead at the break.
• Duquesne allowed GW to shoot just 4-of-12 from the field, while making an even 50 percent (6-12) of its attempts.
• Aho had a game-best 12 points at the half.

THIRD QUARTER

• After the halftime intermission, the Colonials began the third quarter on a 13-1 spree, grabbing a 48-38 advantage with 4:31 left.
• Solé gave the Dukes back the lead with a layup, as Duquesne would hold a lead at the third quarter break (49-47).
• GW outscored Duquesne 19-14 in the quarter with Alexandra Maud posting 12 of her 27 points in the period alone.

FOURTH QUARTER

• After the Dukes took a 3-point lead at 52-49, a 16-4 surge lifted GW to a nine-point lead at 65-56 with just 2:15 left.
• The Dukes, who have came from behind by double-digits in five games this season, quickly sliced the lead to a single possession game at 65-62 after a field goals from Aho, Kalin and Hamilton.
• That is as close the Dukes would get. Bazelak would make three free throws after being fouled attempting a triple to make it a single possession game at 68-65 with 19 seconds left, but GW would convert 7-of-8 attempts from the free throw line with under 30 seconds left to earn the 72-65 win.
• Overall the Colonials made 12-of-14 shots from the free throw line in the final quarter.

NOTES

• The Dukes are currently tied for fifth in the Atlantic 10 standings, but UMass and Davidson both hold tie breakers over the Dukes. If the season ended today, the Dukes would earn the seventh seed and host 10th seed GW. If Richmond defeats St. Bonaventure on Sunday, Duquesne would slide to the eighth seed with two games remaining.  The top two seeds earn a first round bye, while #3 seeds through #8 seeds host the first round of the Atlantic 10 Championships.    
• The Dukes found success from the charity stripe for the fourth consecutive game, sinking 13-of-15 attempts. Over the past four contests, the Dukes are a combined 63-76 (83 percent).
• Duquesne led 24-18 in points off of turnovers.
• The Dukes are now 9-3 at home this season and finish the regular season with a 9-2 record at La Roche.  

UP NEXT

• The Dukes host Fordham for the final regular-season home game and senior night on Tuesday night at Robert Morris' UPMC Events Center.  The opening tip between the Dukes and Rams is set for 7:00 p.m. in Moon Township.
• Duquesne closes the regular season on Saturday, Feb. 29 at St. Bonaventure.